Monthly Archives: February 2018

As part of the continuing work to improve the facilities, look, and safety of the club’s facilities, we are pleased to report that the main hall ceiling has now been completed and looking in good order and in keeping with the rest of the main hall area as you enter the club.

The planned new reading area for the Devas Club’s new reading initiative has now been set up – with an area of bright comfortable chairs and tables.
The initiative is winning support from members and visitors – and the Club has been very pleased by various book donations in recent weeks. At present the club is open to further donations. Please contact us via the contact us link.

I DID IT – I have successfully completed the Grand to Grand Ultra! After 53 hours 10 minutes and 56 seconds on the course, I came 53rd out of 113 runners, 15th female out of 38 women! & 3rd in the female 40-49 age category.

Thank you for all your wonderful words of encouragement and donations, it really will make a difference to Devas Juniors, which relies solely on funding to continue. Devas is a charity that delivers creative, educational and fun after school activities for children. Through Devas, we hope to steer young people in the right direction in life.

It was the most gruelling 170miles I’ve ever ran! Day 3 (52.5miles), almost had me keeling over. Climbing up the sand dunes on my hands & knees, speed walking alone in the dead of night, coyotes barking in the distance, sleeping every night in freezing conditions in wet clothes & snoring tent mates! Climbing canyons so high that when I finally reached the top the view was so epic it literally left me breathless, coupled with altitude sickness & vertigo!

Reading can unlock ideas. It can also unlock the past, the present the future. This is why we are launching a new library for members at at Devas. It is also a way to integrate further into our local community – which is excited and willing to donate books to us to grow our library.

We at Devas – trustees and working staff – recognise that many of the young people who come to Devas, can have problems with their schooling because they do not have a strong enough habit of reading. This is true even in this digital era – so much depends on reading, and particularly at school.

“We realised that more important than the lack of books at home is the lack of a reading culture at home. If parents and families do not have a reading culture reading can be seen as another of the impositions of school, an imposition from an environment in which many young people do not feel supported.,” explains current Chair of Trustees, John Clarke.

The Club is responding by encouraging a culture of reading – beyond merely studying a smartphone ! We hope the books will be accessed by all those passing through the club – from members to parents waiting to collect young people or even those attending various courses here.

“We are keen to help develop a book culture for everyone who comes here – young people both Junior and Senior, and all adults,” according to the trustees. The aim is to build up a reading culture.

All books are donated by local people – who would otherwise clear their bookshelves to charity shops. Devas is open to take every offer right now. Donations so far include a range of cooking books, ‘Airport’ novels by Dan Brown, a climbing guide to Clan Berris, several books in French, numerous football annuals, and a large number of early reading books. Future plans include working with the local Book Trust based in Batteresea.

Anyone is free to take the book home – if this encourages someone to read then we have done our job, we simply record it in a ledger. We will also be subscribing to a small number of magazines such as The Week (Junior version).

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